Senate Cliffhanger: Louisiana Senate Race Headed To Runoff

According to WVUE Fox 8 in New Orleans, the Louisiana Senate race between Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican challenger Bill Cassidy will be headed to a run off. Thanks to Sarah Palin and Tea Party-backed candidate Rob Manness who was one of a number of candidates besides the obvious front runners, we will likely be looking at an election next month which could decide the balance of the Senate depending on the other outcomes tonight.

Based on exit polling Tuesday and on a Raycom/WVUE poll taken before the race, there are strong indications that Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy are heading for a runoff according to Multi Quest International.

The unscientific exit polling data shows Landrieu at 47 percent, Cassidy at 41 percent and Rob Maness at 10 percent. However this is within the margin of error and FOX 8 is not going to make a projection at this time.

As the state’s senior senator, Landrieu is attempting to hold on to the position she has held for 18 years. Her experience, she believes, is what will move Louisiana forward. (Source)

If Mary Landrieu holds on, she may be the only Democrat representing a Deep South state after Mark Pryor’s loss tonight in Arkansas to Tom Cotton. The Bible Belt and Duck Dynasty crowd turned out in force to shoot themselves in the foot and the silver lining is that their votes were split enough between Rob Manness who got 11% according to the most recent MSNBC numbers, and Cassidy which forces the run off.

Unfortunately, it looks like unless voters in the New Orleans area turn out in huge numbers, the Deep South will be completely devoid of Democratic representation in the Senate. On the behalf of the state of Louisiana, I’m terribly sorry.